Timeline

Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The house at 5 Rue du Lieutenant-Colonel-Farro in Brive-la-Gaillarde is an example of 15th century medieval civil architecture. Built in local sandstone, called a brazier, it is distinguished by its staircase in masonry screws, illuminated in the main facade. The interior distribution rests on this central staircase, serving two floors above a ground floor pierced by a rectangular door and a chamfered opening. The frames of the bays, ground and decorated with larmies on the second floor, as well as the wooden front windows, suggest a dating around 1500, confirmed by the modeling of the windows and their decor.

The rear façade has a two-storey gallery, probably added in the 17th century. The first floor of this gallery, now partially hidden, rests on masonry piles and is closed by windows. The second floor, made of cross-of-Saint-André wooden panels under coated with torchi-hards, was probably opened originally. Inside, the chimneys, partially hidden by posterior woodwork, seem contemporary from the original construction. The ensemble illustrates the evolution of constructive techniques between the Middle Ages and the modern era.

Classified as Historic Monument by order of 19 October 1965, the house is protected for its facade on street and its corresponding roof slope. Its state of conservation and its successive development make it a valuable testimony of the urban habitat in Limousin at the hinge of the 15th and 17th centuries. Local materials, such as sandstone, and mixed techniques (stone and wood panels) reflect the region's resources and know-how at that time.

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